So You Think You Can Dance?
by OneWhiteTulip
Summary: A new ballroom dance class puts Hermione with an insufferable partner. Can they make their act believable to get the grade? DMHG
1. Chapter 1

So you think you can dance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the associated characters/locations/plot line. That would all go to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 1

It was the first official day of classes at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Hermione Granger, along with her fellow classmates, was waiting nervously for the arrival of their new teacher.

Her name was Ms. Grindhall and although she was relatively young and beautiful, the subject that she was going to be teaching created much more buzz than her appearance. At the feast the previous night Dumbledore had announced a new class…ballroom dance.

Apparently he felt that social skills would soon be taking precedence over battle magic. Hermione supposed he was referring to the approaching end of the war. It wasn't over yet, that was for sure, but everyday the Daily Prophet reported more and more Deatheater captures.

Almost every student was extremely anxious because most had little or no experience. However, Hermione, although she'd kept her secret very well, was not one of them.

True, she was nervous, but it was not because she didn't know how to dance. Quite the contrary actually, she was a phenomenal dancer and spent most of her summers training, however, she'd never shared that part of her life with those at Hogwarts and was worried about what they would think of "little miss bookworm" when they found out. There were sure to be taunts from the Slytherins and the even more embarrassing compliments and cat calls from the Gryffindor. She just didn't see how this could turn out well. She'd either have to brave the results or play dumb…Hermione never played dumb.

While she waited she studied the room they were going to be using which must have been renovated over the summer because she didn't remember anything like it in previous years. It was very large with one wall covered in mirrors and the one opposite it in windows. The floor was a wood and there were little magical speakers throughout the room to distribute the music. Hermione had to admit… it was a pretty nice facility.

She fiddled with her skirt. She sighed remembering coming down from changing after lunch; she'd surprised a few when she showed up in a tight t-shirt and loose skirt that was just shy of her knees with shorts underneath. It wasn't too sexy per say, but it was a far cry from her baggy Hogwarts robes.

Suddenly all the whispers around the room went silent as the doors opened and the Ms. Grindhall from last night walked confidently into the room.

"Good morning students," she said pleasantly. "I've decided to start today with something fun to get you all pumped about this awesome class. But first I must get a sample of who has had any past experience. Can I see a raise of hands?"

It was now or never. Hermione decided it was worth it to be able to actually dance again and hesitantly raised her hands among some other uncertain classmates. It was just a handful, but she didn't look to see who it included…she would know as soon as they got on the dance floor. Ron and Harry were pleasantly surprised to see her raise her hand but didn't say anything which relaxed her a little bit.

"Not too bad," Ms. Grindhall said, "Now do I have any that have done a little bit more than the basic steps.

Most of the hands went down; actually all but two hands went down. Hermione looked over to see who the other person was and almost fainted. Draco Malfoy danced? Well of course he danced that was a stupid thing to question he would have to at all the important balls and parties he went to. But still it took her aback a little.

"Very nice, our head boy and girl. Could both of you come up to the front please." Dang it she thought. What have I gotten myself into? She walked up to the front very slowly, she didn't want to get into Malfoy's vicinity until she absolutely had to. "Would either of you mind if I asked for a demonstration? I just want to give them a taste for what we'll be learning in this class. Don't worry we know you're just improving."

Hermione and Malfoy just nodded resignedly not really wanting to but not having the gal to get on the teachers bad side on the first day. Once they realized that their fates were sealed and they were going to have to go through with this they began to "check each other out."

To the onlooker it might seem as if they were actually checking each other out, but in reality they were analyzing each other, trying to gauge the others ability and potential- something that dancers commonly do upon receiving a new partner. The first stop is the shoes. Generally dancers have one pair of shoes that they adore and beat up until they're falling off their feet. This wear and tear signifies the amount of dancing the person does while the placement of the wear and tear can tell a little about the ability and the types of movements they do. Next, the girl checks to see if the guy has the strength to do the difficult lifts and stunts while the guy confirms that the girl has suitable legs that can handle the intense movements and sustain leg lifts. This routine "check out" of new partners was second nature and neither actually registered who it was they were "checking out" until they reached the face and then suddenly met in a death glare.

The teacher smiled then said, "Okay, I'll put on a cha-cha and you guys just have fun and show us what you've got." As the teacher went to fiddle with the magical music player Hermione and Draco continued to glare at each other.

"Granger, didn't realize you danced. I'll be careful not to dance circles around you. I wouldn't want to trip."

"Oh, I honestly doubt **you'll** have that problem."

"So confident of yourself are you. You may dominate in studies, but I assure you that I dominate the dance floor."

"We'll see."

Just then the music started and Draco pulled her into closed position and began to do the basic cha-cha pattern, both of them falling easily into step. They both truly shocked everyone as they expertly navigated throughout the room shaking their hips like true Hispanics.

Although, they were just doing the basic Hermione could tell that Draco had true talent. He wasn't giving anything close to what he had. Maybe that or her ache for real dancing is what inspired her to lean a little closer and whisper in Draco's ear, "Come on, is that all you've got." He put on his infamous Malfoy smirk and replied, "If that's how you wanna play," and then whipped her out and around him including several moves with very tricky foot work. He was an excellent lead and Hermione was able to follow him without missing a beat. He raised his eyebrows clearly impressed by her skill as well. Then proceeded to do all of the most complicated twists, turns, exchanges, moves, and lifts he could think of. Hermione, however, was able to follow him wherever he led her and keep up with his fast paced movements. 8 lifts, 27 spins, and 3 splits later the music finally ended and left Hermione and Draco quite out of breath. The entire class including Ms. Grindhall was flabbergasted. They had expected the two to be pretty good, but these two were professional caliber dancers.

"Thanks Malfoy. You know, you're an amazing lead. I totally wasn't expecting that"

"Ya you're great too. It's been a while. I'd forgotten how wonderful that was."

"Pretty great high isn't it."

He was about to reply when suddenly they realized that they were having a normal conversation.

"Ya I guess," he said with forced awkward venom which cut their first real conversation short.

The class sat in silence not knowing weather to clap or scowl but ended up with the latter. After she snapped out of her trance Ms. Grindhall stood and clapped with the rest screaming bravo at the top of her lungs. When the noise calmed down she complimented them once again and then bid them take their seats. An embarrassed Hermione and cocky Draco returned to the audience and listened as their new teacher explained the course curriculum and explained that there would be a series of dances throughout the year that they would have to prepare.

Ron sat rigidly beside Hermione while Harry eyed her warily. This is exactly what she had been worried about. She didn't want her friends to treat her differently. She decided the best course of action was to ignore it and just keep her attention on the teacher which turned out to be very difficult as her mind wandered from the dance she'd just performed to the strange reactions of her best friends. Finally class ended and she grabbed her stuff about to go when Ron's voice cut through her thoughts.

"What was that?"

"What are you talking about?" she replied.

"I mean you letting Malfoy put his hands all over you." Hermione was completely taken aback.

"What are you talking about, we were just dancing." She said after she recovered. "Jus…just dancing. That was not just dancing. That was like dirty dancing." He replied intelligently.

Hermione laughed, "Ron that was one of the cleanest Latin dances I've ever performed in my life."

Ms. Grindhall who had overheard came forward, "I must agree. While the dancing was amazing, there was no passion in what they danced. If you're reacting this way, I'd hate to see what you do when they present their prepared dances. I mean I expect at least some passionate acting if nothing else then."

"Wait, what prepared dances?"

"Well you two will obviously have to be partners. No one else will match your skill levels."

"There has to be. I'm sure we could find someone. Just please professor; I'm sure if he were here he would agree with me."

"I'm sorry Miss Granger I've already made my decision."

"But…"

"Not buts about it. That's my decision is final." And with that she walked away.

"Great just great: a whole year of partnering with that jerk. What have I gotten myself into?" Hermione mumbled under her breath. No one in the trio seemed to be in a good mood as the trudged to their next class.

A/N: Ok so I've wanted to write this story for a very long time! And I recently just sat down and started writing. I have limited knowledge of dancing, although both of my parents have done it, but hopefully I didn't make any sizeable blunders. Feel free to correct me and I'll change anything I need to to make it authentic. I did make up the whole "check out" thing just so all of you know but I think I tried to keep everything else realistic.

Also, I'm going to try and keep this as clean as possible. I hate it when I have to turn off a really good story because of what the characters are doing and that's what happens with most of the dance ones so I determined to make my own and make it clean.

Thanks so much for reading and I'll try to update ASAP. Please Review!

One White Tulip


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and these writings are not for any monetary gain. And so on and so forth…blah blah blah

Chapter 2

The next day the rest of the class was partnered up. Draco and Hermione were asked to give an example of the basic waltz and then Ms. Grindhall went over the steps one by one then sent everyone off to practice.

One- Two- Three. They could hear in the background. But it was now human nature for both of them as they just went through the motions.

"You really are quite good. Where do you train?" Hermione said partly trying to start a conversation and partly because she was curious.

"Madame Clark's" He answered shortly.

Her eyes widened. "Wow that would explain why you're so good. I've wanted to go there for years but… you know the…restrictions."

"Yes, well actually that's what got me there in the first place. Parents wanted me associating with others in my class."

"I see." Hermione furrowed her brow in distaste.

Changing the subject he continued. "What about you?"

"A prestigious muggle one until 3 years ago." Now it was Draco's turn to furrow his brow. "Now it's Lancer Academy."

"I've heard about it." He replied now impressed, "Jean Lancers a legend. I hear he takes his dance team to study abroad each summer. You part of that crowd?"

"Why yes. We trained in India this summer and Argentina the one before it."

"Argentina, did you go to Buenos Ares when you were there?"

"Ya, I did. It's amazing to dance the tango where it was born."

He looked at her enviously for perhaps the first time.

She continued, "Say, I've never seen you at any of the competitions."

He looked down at his shoes. "Professional dancing isn't really my thing."

"Well considering what you just showed me. I think it is."

"Ya well, it's not my thing." He said again firmly as if daring her to push the matter.

She glued her eyes to the floor knowing she had touched a nerve.

Suddenly they were allowed to practice what they had just learned and the dance floor was opened up. This freedom was as if they were just barely given wings to fly. Although they did not talk for the remainder of the class, in fact an uneasy silence lay between the two, they flowed in and out between and through the other couples on the dance floor skillfully. If they could just keep dancing and forget everything else, when they were moving things just weren't too bad.

* * *

The next day the class was to learn samba. Draco and Hermione walked in with their own friends and then at the last moment walked over to each other, bracing themselves for another class full of jibes and quarrelling. That was when Ms. Grindhall did something much unexpected. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. The two of you are excused for the rest of the class's duration; however I would like to speak with both of you during the free period following." The two looked at her, then at each other, then slowly and hesitantly made their way to the locker rooms to collect their belongings and then out the door. 

"That was quite odd," Hermione noted.

"Yes it was," Draco sneered at her, "Stating the obvious are we. And I always thought you were smart."

"Listen Malfoy! I don't like this either. But we were just sentenced to an entire year together and I for one would like to enjoy this dance class as I believe you would too. So what do you say, truce." She finished passionately. "Only during practice," she added hastily.

His smirk faltered as he contemplated her offer. He knew how much he could enjoy dancing this year, especially with someone of great skill, but what about his reputation.

"What kind of truce?" he finally asked. He wasn't going to commit to something without knowing exactly what it was.

"No fighting or unkind words."

He scoffed, "How are we supposed to do that. The only way we'd accomplish it is if we don't talk."

Suddenly a light bulb turned on in her head, "Then why don't we limit our talking to scheduling and commentary about the dance moves. If we keep that short and to the point then perhaps we might be able to get through the year without killing each other."

He pondered again. It wasn't such a bad idea. And since he had given her the inspiration for it he felt he could agree because he could take some of the credit.

"Deal." He held out his hand to her.

She smirked, though not even close to the one he'd perfected, and shook his hand. "Deal." She confirmed.

* * *

When he returned in an hour he was met by an empty classroom. Slowly he made his way to Ms. Grindhall's office where Hermione was already seated, early, as usual. He took the second seat in front of her desk and waited for her to start speaking. 

"I'm sure both of you are wondering why on earth I called you here today."

They both nodded.

"Well after the first class, it became apparent to me that you two would not benefit at all from my instruction of the basics. So I've decided to just give you the assignments and let you work on your own time. Here is a copy of my class schedule for each of you," she said passing a packet to each of them, "and you'll be required to come to class the last week of each month for the presentations and to present your own, but otherwise you can practice whenever you like as long as I'm not teaching a class."

The both nodded again, although, this time, more out of habit than in acquiescence. They were both rather in shock at this new revelation. Not only would they have to work together, but now there wouldn't be anyone to make sure they didn't murder the other.

They walked out of her office slightly numbed until Draco broke the silence, "Well we have a free period right now. Want to get started?"

And with that she dropped her bags and allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. As he pulled her into closed position she had mixed feelings about what this year could hold. But was content to sit back and find out.

A/N: So here is the next chapter of one of my most successful fanfictions i've written although still short. I'm sorry for the delay. I had laptop separtion syndrome. lol my mom took my laptop on a tripso i had no access to upload. I hope you like this follow up. The next one is already done and I expect a quick upload to make up for the wait. Anyway, I'm rambling now. Please R/R and thank you so much for all my supporters. Your amazing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was rehearsal much like the others they had had in the three months they had been partnered up: hastily thrown into their hectic schedules wherever it might fit, most of the time during their breaks between classes.

They went over the steps together with crisp precision. They were silent unless specifically necessary to clear up the choreography. This was the arrangement they had worked out. Otherwise they would just bicker and nothing would got done, that is, while they were dancing.

As the weather had begun to get cooler both of them had layered up. But now that they were dancing at rapid paces both were sweating profusely.

"Dang it's hot." Hermione said abruptly into the thick silence the lay between them as the danced.

It was so abrupt that actually caused Draco to misstep and Hermione to in turn trip over his wrongly placed feet. They landed in a heap on the floor.

Draco cried out in exasperation. But realized he'd made the mistake first. Choosing to ignore this fact he pushed Hermione off his legs savagely.

"That was graceful." He commented.

"Hey it takes two to tango." She smirked amused at what she'd said since it was in fact the tango they were dancing.

"How very sage of you. Come up with that line on your own."

"Yes. As a matter of fact; I created it."

"Whatever. It _is_ hot in here and these sweaters aren't helping." He said pulling the emerald jumper he was wearing over his uniform and Hermione following his lead stripped off her scarlet one. Going on auto pilot Hermione continued down to her undershirt. It really was the most effective for dancing. Draco did the same.

As they walked over to toss their clothing in the corner so it wouldn't get in their way Draco queried, "So you nervous about the Potions exam we have this afternoon?"

"Not really. I mean I did a polyjuice potion when I was only…" she trailed off realized what she'd let slip and who exactly she'd slipped it to.

"Really now? Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes isn't as innocent as we all though she was."

"What are you talking about? I've just studied up on it for years is all." She attempted to cover.

"Uh Huh and I'm the tooth fairy. Listen. Hide it all you want but I got blackmail material now."

Hermione rolled her eyes. She was only slightly nervous; it was so many years ago and besides, there was no way he could prove it. Then she smirked to herself as she remembered the purpose for which she had made such a potion; to see if the boy in question was the Heir of Slytherin. Oh, if only he knew!

Finally she answered, "Well I've read the chapter at least 10 times so, I'm not too worried…not at all."

"Is all your studying and smarts going to your head? Pride is so unbecoming."

Hermione scoffed and looked at him incredulously. He was so pompous sometimes it amazed her.

"Yes well it's a plague of life that I shall have to learn to deal with." She replied with extra bravado.

Chuckling she began walking back onto the dance floor. Draco caught up with her easily and stepped in front to practice their Tango once again.

Although the typical clothing both was used to while dancing, it was awkward being so immodest around each other in their undershirts. It seemed too intimate. However, continued to dance regardless.

This time, however, as she placed her hand on his shoulders she received bare skin and when he turned her, his fingertips brushed the hair thin strip exposed around her midriff. Sparks like electricity went through both of them, but they continued dancing un-phased while more and more of these jolts occurred.

As he pulled her into the final embrace she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck and had to repress a shiver. Both frozen in time, for the first time semi-enjoying the fact that they were dancing together for other reasons besides skill, though neither of them would ever admit it. They stood there slightly longer then was necessary, and just savored this new feeling that was enveloping them.

Hermione was the first to break the moment. Looking at her watch she gasped, "I'm going to be late!"

"There are almost 10 minuets till next class." Draco replied mildly amused.

"I have Herbology! it's nearly all the way on the other side of the school!" she exclaimed. Hastily she ran and gathered her belonging from the corner throwing on clothing in a haphazard way. "I'll see you later tonight for patrols. We can plan our next rehearsal then. See you!" She yelled as she exited the room.

He stared at the space she had just occupied. What had just happened? He had felt something different this rehearsal. He'd gotten wafts of it occasionally once or twice over the time they'd spent together, but today, the bare skin on her arms and shoulders and the tiny bit peaking out at her waist? It made her seem so vulnerable, like she trusted him enough to let him see this part of her.

That was truly odd. Why was he thinking of Granger that way? He decided that it was a consequence of not having any girlfriends recently because he was so busy with Head duties.

Hermione ran across campus faster than she'd ever run before. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about the time like that. She hadn't felt that exhilaration in dancing in a long while. When you actually have a connection with you partner. This time it was amazing! She couldn't believe Malfoy could evoke that kind of emotion in her. I mean really. While that part of her became slightly excited as to what else she didn't know about Draco Malfoy, another part of her was screaming for her to run in the other direction. I mean this is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. Jerk, Arrogant, Pureblood, Enemy, Malfoy. How could she even let herself share that connection with him. All thoughts of what had just happened were scattered to the winds as she rushed into the fourth Greenhouse barely in time. Out of breath she went over to stand by Harry and Ron. "What have you been up to Hermione, you look like you just got through snogging someone senseless." Ron whispered to her.

Hermione turned bright red and gave a hushed outraged cry. "Ronald Weasley! How could you? You know I would do no such thing."

"I know, I just found it comical, you walking in out of breath with your hair in disarray and your clothes all disheveled. To any one else it would look like that," he replied.

She reddened further but just turned her attention to Professor Sprout.

They were going to be planting a healing herb garden for Madame Pomfrey because the last one became infested with unwanted rodents.

Proffesor Sprout gave hasty instructions and then set them to work.

Because of heating charms on all the greenhouses to make them bearable during the winter months, they all started taking off some of the top layers that were now unneeded.

This time Hermione went down to her collared shirt, rolled up the sleeves, and went to work. After she'd finished about a few rows. A giggly Lavender and Padma came up to her.

"So Hermione, who's the lucky boy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well we know a case of boyfriend's shirt when we see it." They exchanged knowing glances.

She looked down critically at her shirt then gasped. Laughing uncomfortably she replied, "Oh, you see this is just a mix up. Malfoy and I were practicing and I must have accidentally picked up the wrong shirt. We were running late so I was in a hurry."

"Wow! I never thought it'd be Malfoy Hermione. I mean really. I can't disapprove, he's gorgeous but…wow!" Lavender exclaimed.

"I bet you're the first Gryffindor to wear one of his shirts." Padma added dreamily.

She looked at them mortified. "You can't possible believe that he and I…" she made gagging noises. "That's disgusting. It was hot and we were in layers. There was a mix up end of story!"

"Right." They replied with a wink and then rushed off the "spread the news."

Hermione groaned. What on earth was she going to do?

Harry and Ron looked at her uncomfortably, not sure what to believe.

"Not you guys too. Listen, I always practice in a tank top at Academy so this was no big deal. Plus I didn't want my nice collared shirt to get sweaty and gross. Normally we try and change, but we barely had time to go through the dance a couple times so we just didn't today. Nothing happened," she said trying to suppress the memories of their practice with all her might.

"Ok, we believe you," they said skeptically.

She groaned again. She couldn't believe this was happening.

While Hermione didn't realize the mix up until her next class, Draco noticed immediately, when he couldn't button up the shirt. At first he looked down confused, and then he smirked. Today would sure turn out to be an interesting day. With that he pulled out his wand and resized the shirt so that it would fit his slim frame and then walked to his next class.

A/N: I know that girls and boys shirts button up differently but please work with me. They were in a hurry and so didn't notice. J


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not mine. All Jo's

Chapter 4 

The day went from bad to worse. It was truly unfortunate that Lavender and Parvati discovered Hermione's mistake for the news had spread quickly and it became the subject of seemingly every conversation in the Great Hall at dinner. Hermione hung her head and tried to ignore all the gazes that were pointed in her direction and especially trying to ignore a certain Slytherin who just sat there smirking. There were jealous girls and quite a few jealous boys, but for the most part everyone was stunned; from what they knew, these two were the last people on the face of the earth to get together. Of course as every rumor mill works, the stories never end up the way they were sent out. Hermione ate as voraciously as possibly. That's what she always did when logic failed to solve her problems. Mere minutes later, she exited the Great Hall determined to make it to her dormitory with as few encounters as possible. This hope, however, was not to be achieved. Everyone she passed on her way either interrogated, gawked at, or avoided her. She even had to take away 30 points from a group of Ravenclaw girls for one accusation that had left Hermione feeling sick to her stomach.

When she finally made it to the Common Room she received cold stares. She longed for Harry, Ron, Ginny, or just anyone that might have at least listened to her explanation before they shunned her. But unfortunately there was Quidditch practice and they were all unavailable. She confined herself to the 7th year girls' dorm and bolted the door. For the next few hours she threw herself into her schoolwork, which happened to be another way she dealt with problems. This, however, was never very productive because most of the time she had to rewrite it all as a result of the mistakes she always made when she was upset or tired.

At 10:00 Hermione finally put away her books and headed out for patrol duty hoping no one would notice her leaving her room. Her bad luck seemed to still be with her since every eye turned as she reentered the common room and walked to and out of the portrait. Once she was out she sighed in relief.

* * *

When she got to the Great Hall Draco was already there. He was just leaning nonchalantly against a wall smirking at her as she descended the stairs as if nothing had happened today. She couldn't believe him. He was so infuriating! She was getting worked up just looking at him. She walked right passed him to the dungeons where they patrolled first. As she walked purposefully in the lead she could hear the lazy stride his expensive loafers made on the stone ground.

He hadn't said one word and she was already as angry as a firecracker. She realized how stupid she was being and that this was not his fault. It was a mistake on her part actually. She forbade herself from self-destructive lines of thought as she realized that she'd have to live with the rumors for at least another couple of weeks. And to make matters worse she and Draco had to perform the Tango in a week for their entire class. That would be sure to get the rumor mills pumping again if they let off at all between now and then. She sighed loudly now resigned to her fate.

Draco broke her reverie with his lazy drawl, "You as irritated by the student body as much as I am?" he queried.

'_Dang that was reasonably civil,'_ Hermione pondered.

"I can't believe you'd get us into such a mess." He finished.

And there it went. Right down the drain.

"It was an accident okay? Besides, it's never as bad for the _man_! It never _has_ been!" She blew up right away.

"_Excuse_ me?" he replied incredulously. "You're unbelievable, Granger. You always find some way to pin it back on me!"

"Well it's true. You can do anything with a girl and your buddies will just pat you on the back and say, 'Good job, you even got to the little mudblood!' I do _anything_ and all the sudden I'm a scarlet woman. And not only that, everyone hates me because I sold out for a Slytherin."

"It's funny you should bring up your lineage because despite my reputation there's a whole lot of purebloods who are very upset about this thing that's allegedly going on between us."

"Well I'm sorry to dirty the air around you with my breathing! I'll just keep my distance, okay?" She said storming away.

"Granger!" he yelled at her withdrawing figure. She didn't stop. "Hermione!" he yelled again. This time she did stop. However, she didn't dare turn around as he slowly caught up with her. (A Malfoy doesn't run after anyone)

"Listen," he said. His voice suddenly soothing, "I'm sorry I upset you." His voice once again turned sarcastic, "I just wanted you to realize that it isn't all sun and daisies on my side of the fence." He emphasized the words 'sun' and 'daisies' amused that he used them in the same sentence.

"But you do nothing to refute the statements about my dirty blood?" She shot back through angry tears, more hurt than she cared to admit.

"Hermione,' he said her name again forcing her to look up into his eyes, "It's how we're raised," he continued on quickly so she couldn't interject, "I'm not saying its right. I'm just suggesting that you have some understanding. That's what you're best at," he smiled at her, amazing himself.

She was awestruck. He had not only been nice to her, but he'd complimented her as well! And maybe it was just her imagination, but was he hitting on her, too? _'Wow,'_ she thought, _'this sure is turning out to be a bizarre day._'

And all because of these strange feelings she was having for her enemy…

But could she really call him her enemy? Throughout the past few months their little truce had evolved into some sort of strange friendship. And, as unbelievable as it may seem, Draco was sometimes quite tolerable. Occasionally after practice they even discussed difficult homework assignments. She found that she actually enjoyed listening to his opinions on everything from dance steps to ancient runes and waited desperately for the next rare moment. She couldn't believe it. She'd been in denial this whole time.

"Thank you, Draco," she replied appreciatively. "You don't know how much that means to me." She smiled back at him, "You're probably one of the most decent Slytherins I've ever met."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes!" she replied surprised by him joking about his own house.

They sat there in an awkward silence for a minute or so before Draco broke it, "Well, we should probably get back to patrolling if we want to get any sleep tonight."

"Yes. You're right." She said starting to walk again.

"I love it when you say that." He replied falling in step beside her.

"I know. That's why I don't say it very often— have to make sure we keep your ego in check."

He laughed good naturedly, "Oh, I see. So how's your potions essay going?"

"Done," she replied in her normal Hermione manner.

"Typical." He responded.

She continued on unphased, "What do you think about the new theory: adding more of one ingredient can help focus the potion on the specific magical qualities of that ingredient allowing the drinker to customize it based on their needs?"

"Why thank you for telling me what to write my essay on. I wasn't too sure about the topic before just now." He smirked. (Dang he did that a lot.)

"Malfoy! I don't believe you. Head boy! Not even done yet and cheating the answers off someone else."

"You offered it willingly. I didn't even bring up the subject." He said with satisfaction.

"You could have stopped me."

"Really, I doubt anyone could shut you up when you want to share your knowledge."

"That's not true. I have wonderful restraint and res.."

"Granger."

"…pect for other's wishes."

"Granger." He repeated louder.

"What." She cried exasperated.

"I wrote my essay yesterday. I think the theory is an urban myth. Changing ingredients and amounts is too hazardous to tamper with-the outcomes are too random. Anything could happen. It could become a healing balm or an instantaneous poison; the only way to test it out being to try it. So no, I don't think it's a theory I'm going to be trying any time soon."

"Wait. You'd written it and let me go on and on like that."

"MmmHmmm."

"Why?"

"You're just too easy to get worked up."

She rolled her eyes and then decided arguing was futile. "So you don't think it's a very good idea either. That's the same thing I wrote my essay on. The risks outweighing the unlikely but possible triumph."

"I guess great minds think alike." He answered.

"Was that a compliment?" she asked slyly, "Two in one night. I'm amazed."

"Hey. I don't like what you're insinuating."

"What? That you've gone soft."

"No. That I can't be nice when I want to be."

"I find that hard to believe." She asked, her tone full of doubt.

"I just don't usually bestow the honor on Gryffindorks. Honestly, I was too lazy to think of any good comebacks at the moment so decided to inflate my ego instead. But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it." He gave a malicious laugh.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, "So what about the Invisibility spell in Charms. Are you having as much trouble as me?"

"Trouble? Who do you think I am?"

"Don't be so cocky." She replied, angry that he seemed better than her at something.

"Cocky? Cocky is my middle name."

"Really. So Draco Cocky Arrogant Jerkface Evil Prejudice Horrid Ferret Malfoy. Is your full name."

He narrowed his eyes, "Yes, how did you guess."

She smirked.

Draco decided to change the subject…fast before things got out of hand. He couldn't kill the Head Girl, the only reason being he knew he couldn't hide her body without Dumbledore finding it and he just knew he'd end up expelled. "No I didn't have any problems." He said firmly, "But how are you doing with the Ancient Runes translations…"

The rest of their patrol went in much the same manner. They didn't find very much; just one couple in an empty classroom and a mess Peeves left behind. But as Hermione slipped into dreamland that night she reflected that that was perhaps the most interesting patrol she'd ever had in her life.

A/N: Yay! Finally an update. I'm really excited about this story. It's working along nicely. I've already written the next chapter so it'll probably be up this weekend or sometime next week. I have a special thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys are amazing and keep me writing. Also, a huge round of applause for my new beta Tory. She was an inspiration to me this past week of writing. And finally to J.k. for coming up with such wonderful vivid characters for me to work with. Please Read/Review! I'll love ya forever.

One White Tulip


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Need I. I mean really. It's not mine. Everyone knows that.

Chapter 5

So far Hermione and Draco had been lucky. Since the first week they'd only danced a foxtrot and quickstep. They had been able to stay away from the seductive Latin dances. But now, now that there were rumors flying everywhere, now of all times, they were doing a tango. Not only that, the tango they'd choreographed was hot and aggressive. At the time it felt like a good idea. They got to act out their frustration towards each other at every rehearsal. Now, however, Hermione had her doubts. How would the class take it? That was a silly question. She knew exactly how they were going to take it. Just tack it on to everything else that was incriminating her and Draco.

These were some of the thoughts racing through her brain as she strapped on her 4 inch heels. As she stepped into the class she cursed her bad luck one more time before making sure she was in character. That was of the utmost importance for this performance.

She walked over and sat next to Harry and Ron who gawked at her halter black dress complete with mini skirt and hooker heals. She certainly was a sight compared to the appearance they were used to.

Draco leered at her and as he passed said, "Who ya dressin up for Granger? I don't even think a call girl would wear that to class. Not to say you look bad, I just thought you ought to know the message you're sending every guy in this room. I mean, don't advertise if you can't deliver." He smirked.

"Excuse me Malfoy." She spat out.

"Just warning you."

"Draco Black Malfoy you know perfectly well why I'm wearing this. We're per-form-ing. TO-DAY! " She said the last part in broken syllables so as to make sure he wouldn't misunderstand her.

"What!" he exclaimed. "I thought that was next week!"

"You thought wrong Mr. Macho-I-Can't-Even-Remember-an-Assignment-Guy. Maybe if you spent a little less time on your hair and tried to be responsible." She said angrily.

"Don't you insult me. This is your fault mudblood." He retorted.

Ms. Grindhall jerked her head in their direction surprised and interjected, "I do not tolerate that type of language in my classroom Mr. Malfoy." They ignored her however.

"My fault? I seem to be the one prepared here." Hermione shot back.

"But you didn't inform me as to our performance time." He reasoned

"Yes. I did. As soon as I knew I told you."

"If you had told me I would have been prepared."

"I told you."

"No you didn't"

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't"

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't"

"Yes I… This is stupid. Let's just get it over with. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Fine"

He pushed her onto the dance floor as she shot daggers at him. As she pulled away from his grip the music turned on and perfectly synchronized she did a double spin at the down beat to end up in closed position.

The following steps were intricate and precise. However, that's not what was drawing the attention of the class. The energy radiating between them was scorching; hate and boiling anger. Their movement was abrupt and seemingly violent. It was as if they were having a full out fight on the dance floor. Each gaining and loosing dominance over the other with every passing second. Draco was demanding the natural control he had as the lead but Hermione was resisting with all her might. She pulled away and he pulled her back, all within the natural movements of the tango. As the music picked up so did their pace. With sudden slows and more sudden returns to tempo. It was a competition. A heated battle. And just as soon as it began, it ended Hermione in a low dip and him balancing on top as well as holding them up.

Once again the class sat in silence completely stunned at what they had just witnessed. The only sound was the heavy breaths emitted from the pair. Slowly Hermione and Draco came to a standing position and bowed as one or two emerged from their stupor enough to clap politely. As the two looked at the shocked faces staring back at them a small smile, well in Malfoy's case a smirk, began to develop on their faces as the silence persisted.

After another prolonged moment of awkward clapping Hermione broke focus and turned to Ms. Grindhall, "Thank you so much for the tip to set the scene, I think it really added to the performance."

Ms. Grindhall was only barely regaining her composure, "Excuse me? I don't understand."

"Last week when you sat in on our rehearsal, you said sometimes it enhances the dance by setting a scene like in a play."

"So you…"

"We staged the fight to add to the atmosphere we wanted in the piece. How was the affect?"

"It worked," she replied a little dazed. After a moments pause she continued, "Um thank you, you two may be seated."

With a smug smile still gracing their lips they took their seats at separate ends of the class as Ms. Grindhall proceeded to lecture on the origins of the tango.

A/N: Well I have to admit I never thought I'd be writing another one of these. In August I decided to leave fanfiction for personal reasons, which I'll tell you was not an easy task. No reading, no writing. I didn't even post chapters that were already done. I finally got so busy I forgot about it completely when all of the sudden I got a few random reviews for this story. I was very surprised to say the least. After postponing writing all my regretful "thanks for the review but I'm not finishing the story" replies they began to pile up and I came to the decision to come back just to finish this story. It proves the power of the people. So I'm sorry this is a short one, but I particularly like it. And I'll try and have a chap or two more out soon, although with AP tests and such coming up I can't promise much by way of consistency. However, I'm actually writing which is saying something. Thanks for all the great feedback.

One White Tulip


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

In the proceeding month's things had progressed little—at least outwardly. When they weren't rehearsing or on head duties they ignored the other's existence completely. When they were forced to be together they behaved as usual. However, they'd begun to have that strange connection with each other on a daily basis. Perhaps it was this simple subtle feeling that was responsible for changing the way they thought of the other. It seemed these small invisible exchanges took the edge off their biting comments and, though neither would ever admit it, they actually cared about the other person's opinions… in isolated situations that is. There was no denying it; there was some form of a warped friendship between the two.

This was a difficult thing to hide when everyone was trying to find incriminating evidence that it existed, and not only friendship, but apparently something much more. Despite this difficulty, they were masters at treating the other horribly, and so things continued without much progress. Even the holiday spirit floating around didn't soften the two. They'd developed a ridiculous lifestyle of lots of work and little sleep and it didn't improve their moods any. It was with this attitude they came together for one of their last patrols.

They walked in silence for the most part, only a few idle comments encompassing almost an hour. Because of this, the scratching noise they heard when they passed the transfiguration room caught both of their attention.

"What on earth is that?" Hermione said as they walked in. They looked around for the guilty couple or escaped animal and found nothing. Then all of the sudden Draco was laughing. It was a surprising sound, not only because it contrasted the silence but because it was coming from him and it sounded like it came from a genuinely amused person.

Hermione looked up abruptly at the noise.

"It was a tree branch. Up on the high window."

"You're kidding. We stopped our patrol for a tree branch?"

"Are you questioning the position trees play in our magical society?"

"Are you mocking me and my involvement in S.P.E.W.?"

"Why on earth would I do such a thing?"

"Your reasoning is beyond me," she said as she attempted to leave the room to finish their patrol. Only, she stopped before she could achieve her destination.

Turning around a little embarrassed she simply stated, "It's locked."

He chuckled, "That's the oldest trick in the book. You wouldn't believe how many make-out sessions we break up start off with it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know she feels cornered and yet excited, like there's no way out. She forgets of course that she's a witch and can get the lock right open but that doesn't matter. Plus it also adds to her feelings of security. If she can't get out then no Prefect with half a brain can get in and discover them."

"Interesting psychology behind that. It seems you're quite an expert.

"Well you know in my day…"

"Oh I'm sorry I got you started. Sometimes I forget how sexy you think you are."

He ignored her jibe and summed up, "I have some experience."

"I'm sure you had a lot of late night excursions before you were Head Boy. Oh wait, you probably sneak off on your free nights and completely disregard the rules even now."

"I've had my share; but nothing this year." He said without thinking.

She looked at him surprised, and surprised herself by suppressing the feelings that statement brought to her.

He continued quickly, "You know between classes and head duties and dance rehearsals there really hasn't been any time to deal with all that."

"I know what you mean. I've kind of left all that behind this year as well."

"Like you ever snuck off in the middle of the night to have a secret meeting."

"No nothing like that naturally," she seemed shocked.

"So you've never felt that rush, the nervous passion. The suppressed fear that someone will find you. The embarrassment when you have to return to that classroom the next day for a completely different reason, or the awkwardness when you see the person again.

"Nope can't say that I have." She answered, slightly uncomfortable at the glint in his eye.

She turned around quickly and pulled at the handle to the locked door but of course it didn't open. When she turned around he was definitely invading her personal space. Her breathing came in short erratic stints as he continued to close the distance.

"Everyone should experience it." He whispered and she could feel his hot breath against her cheek as he spoke. She felt very confused and was sure she should get out as fast as possible only she couldn't move. She stood there petrified, somehow entranced by the snake charmer. As he leaned in the final few inches all she could say was, "It's still locked." And there was a definite smile as his lips softly brushed against hers in a sense asking permission to go any further. Without any clear thought she answered with an open invitation.


End file.
